Stewart MacDonald 5297, Assembly Instruction Manual

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The neck angle is controlled by the shape of the neck heel as
it contacts the sides of the body . It is not determined by the
fit of the mortise-and-tenon joint . (In fact, correctly setting
the angle on a dovetail neck actually loosens the dovetail
joint, which is later re-tightened by using a wooden shim .)
The neck heel sets the neck angle
Removing wood from the top or bottom of the neck heel
tips the neck forward or back . Removing from either the
bass or treble side changes the neck’s angle in relation to
the center of the bridge .
The two roughly triangular surfaces on either side of the
tenon are called the “cheeks” of the neck heel . These cheeks
are machined flat, but the guitar sides they contact are not
flat: the guitar has a slight curvature at the neck block . Most
of the handwork in fitting a neck is cutting away the inner
part of these cheeks to fit this curvature . Only the outer
edges of the heel make contact with the body , and these
edges set the neck angle (illustrated) .
The contact area of the heel is an area about 1/8" to 3/16"
wide around the outer edges of the bass side, treble side,
and bottom of the cheeks . Mark this area on the heel with a
pencil . Using a sharp chisel, remove wood from the remain-
ing inner area up to the tenon (pictured) .
After under-cutting the cheeks this way, you should have a
neck fit that is very close . Still, you may need to remove a
little wood from the outer contact edges to adjust the neck
alignment . Removing wood from the upper part of the neck
cheek edges will raise the neck (decrease the angle), remov-
ing from the bottom will lower it (increase the angle) . Taking
wood from either side will move the neck in that direction .
It’s important to note that removing wood from a dovetail
neck will move the neck toward the bridge slightly . This will
loosen the dovetail joint, and introduce a slight side-to-side
play . You want the neck to be in the same position each
time you check it for fit, so firmly hold the dovetail against
either the bass or treble wall of the dovetail socket . It doesn’t
matter which side, as long as you always use the same side
during fitting .
Tape the bridge to the soundboard using low tack drafts-
man’s tape . Center the bridge on the soundboard so that it
is square to the centerline . The center of the bridge saddle
should be 12-13/16" from the neck end of the guitar . (Since
the neck block has an opening for the neck joint, you can
measure from the center by laying a flat object across this
opening .)
Fitting the neck to the body
Remove from shaded area
Remove
wood here
Top
view
Bolt-on
neck
Leave edges intact
Leave edges intact
Dovetail
neck
Top
view
Remove
wood here
Areas to
remove wood
25